Fithos Lusec Wicos Vinosec
by giggleplex
Summary: They were just your average, over-worked magic students, until a chance challenge shattered everyone's assumptions of normalcy. But power in this adventure comes at a price; difficult love. (YAOI! R+YB Y+YY S+J) Please R+R!
1. A Boy With a Cheery Smile

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! *runs and hides*  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Yeah, see you!"  
  
Little Yugi almost skipped up to his friend's dorm as he waved back to the ever-smiling Tea with an expression that plainly showed; "trademark ecstatic". All of his female classmates loved his nearly closed eyes, and wide smile with Tea as no exception. He knew this well, after being her friend for five years it was somewhat impossible not to notice her ridiculous obsession with everything "kawaii", as did the girl herself.  
  
He was a queer sight for his age, oddly short but with such an acrobatic and energetic disposition that many who never knew him would second-guess his first impression of age. His hair was a wild porcupine of magenta, black and gold that seemed to defy gravity and all natural forces of Samia. The blue outfit in which he wore cautiously, was common around the campus in which he resided, only because it was a strict uniform that many other boys his age GREATLY disapproved of. Tea wore a little play on the style, a skirt and bow around her neck of the same cheery color, but a pink overcoat that automatically put an end to any doubts of ~her~ gender.  
  
Where Yugi was cute, his best friend was rather plain in appearance. She had a typical brunette mane, cut almost embarrassingly short for a female of her position, but her wide and clear eyes seemed to make up for any informality. Though she was by no means ~beautiful~, Yugi had long since developed a small crush on her, but it was probably just a teen fantasy that would disappear tomorrow . . .  
  
Or at least, that's what he had been telling himself for the past four years.  
  
She rolled her eyes in fake disapproval at him playing at her weaknesses (but with a small smile still playing about her face), and he giggled.  
  
"Oh wait! Yugi!" he turned automatically to see her dash easily to him "Do you think you can come to Dueling tonight? Madame Ara told me the arenas were going to be open after school."  
  
"Really?" Even his wild hairdo seemed to peak up in interest.  
  
"Same time, same place." She confirmed with a nod "Apparently, the Madame already cleaned up that mess from last month. We're really fortunate, with the mid-term exams next week and all."  
  
"That's fantastic." He was relieved, and it showed plainly in his sighing tone. Yugi was the worst at taking practical exams, which was a shame because of natural talent he often showed when not under pressure. He supposed it wasn't too bad, not nearly as horrible as say  
  
"Joey. I should probably tell him about open hall." Tea raised her eyebrows "He said he would come this time to study! He said he NEEDED it!" Yugi defended.  
  
"I'll believe ~that~ when I see it. Oh well, invite away I suppose. I should probably stop by Tristan's place and inform him of the situation." She smiled, while moving slowly to make lax hints of leaving.  
  
"Great. I'll tell Ryou too! We haven't practiced with a Windy in a while."  
  
"Okay, see you there, Yugi Muto!"  
  
"Bye . . . again." They giggled and Tea even added a good-natured wink as they finally split to their separate ways. Yugi was practically bouncing with excitement, as he happened to be one of the few (and the proud) who absolutely ~loved~ to duel. But it was hardly surprising, because he had grown up with the idea for so long.  
  
And thanks to North Samia's Academy of Magic, he had the opportunity to learn to succeed in his dream.  
  
It was the top magic school in the entire New World of Samia, located in lush surroundings of ancient conifer trees, and hidden springs. The school itself had been built many generations ago, therefore adopting very powerful-looking structures that even dominated the naturally overwhelming vegetation.  
  
There were five wings to the campus; dormitories, cafeterias, quad, offices, and classrooms.  
  
The dorms were the largest wing, housing over a thousand students all- together. They were split into the girls, and boys sections, to keep as little attention drawn from the students' studies. Yugi personally doubted that particular notion, because of the short skirts every girl was required to sport, but the true intention was only guessable, never certain, because the school was built so many years ago.  
  
The few teachers that didn't choose to reside in the offices, were charged with precarious job of keeping the students in line . . . or at least fulfill the duty as well as possible. Young mages seemed to have particularly bold egos and daring, so it was more to keep them out of trouble. Since there were so few instructors that chose to help in that way, they each had their own work hall that were each deliberately built to house any sorts of magic.  
  
Even on the ribbonned entrance letter, the Academy guaranteed a comfortable setting for any student. That reason alone justified the idea of giving the cafeteria its own wing, and the fact that most juveniles that attended were constantly bone-tired, plaguing their already always-empty stomachs.  
  
The quad was normally a large empty place, supposedly reserved for special occasions. Kind of pointless, in Yugi's opinion, because all of the 'special occasions' Yugi had witnessed were held in the halls of willing instructors. But then again, the Academy was not terribly eager with parties.  
  
And finally, the last wing was made of classrooms. Nothing really special here, just the places they ~really~ seemed to live at. They were magi- tecture ((think architecture people)) wonders in a supposed view, but somehow, students never recognized that wonder after working long and difficult hours inside of them regularly. Students often stayed as far away from the dark classrooms as much as they could.  
  
But presently, Yugi was wandering about the dorms. The male dorms, to be exact. Comfortable, with a lazy sort of feeling to it, he was sure it was unnecessarily charmed for people to get side-tracked. He made sure his purpose of journey was on the top if his mind at all times, and he found the Brook House with relatively no trouble at all.  
  
/Ryou wasn't in elemental study today . . . I wonder, is he sick?/ The little boy being the sweetheart he was, immediately volunteered to deliver lesson notes and homework to his quiet friend. It was strange how Ryou had such few friends, thought Yugi, he really was a nice person, if not a tad bit mysterious. Tristan had once mentioned that Ryou Bakura was just ~creepy~, but the joyful boy only shook his head. That was no reason to practically shun him!  
  
Despite that none of his friends ~truly~ believed him in this opinion, they uncomfortably accepted Ryou into their little clique nonetheless, even with Ryou's obvious discomfort. Even if it was more of a precarious truce, that seemed to only balance delicately on a pin-head, rather than a true friendship.  
  
Even Tristan had tried to include the boy in their everyday, and oftentimes pointless, conversations, but he seemed unnaturally disinclined to talk. Yugi often felt a suspicion tug at his heart; that Ryou knew quite well the rest didn't like him very much, and didn't want to disturb even the most ~insignificant~ slice of reality that could affect friendship . . . of others.  
  
The spiky-haired boy felt the feeling every single time Ryou glanced at him dubiously, and ridiculously enough; apologetic. Yugi really tried though. He really tried. And he hadn't given up yet!  
  
A few lounging boys waved just for the sake of waving, as Yugi climbed up the creaky steps to room 218. Why were steps so tall?! He took each step slowly and deliberately, so as not to trip or fall onto the weather-worn steps. That would not be good.  
  
/All-MOST . . . there . . . /  
  
He sighed as he reached the top; a covered outdoor corridor that twisted unpredictably. The golden numbers flashed ominously by, one by one with about every five steps. It was one of those hallways that gave off the illusion that you were walking much faster than you really were, and Yugi giggled despite the obvious gloom that hung thick around the place. That little observation was more than enough to place ~him~ in cheery spirits.  
  
Finally, he stopped at the dead end, and turned to the one door that was the darkest, the one door that no one would have wanted to enter, judging by the appearance; the door marked neatly as '218'.  
  
Yugi knocked on the wooden surface three times.  
  
It took a more delayed time than was practical, but eventually a response was heard.  
  
"Who's there?" it wasn't demanding at all, but quiet and gentle. He had to strain his ears just to make out those two words.  
  
"Ryou?" Yugi asked, craning his neck forward to hear a resposnse.  
  
"Yugi."  
  
The shadows that were reflected onto the surface of the door trembled, and then shifted just a hair as the door opened to the fullest extent the safety chain allowed. The boy outside thrust his hand into his pocket, and tightened the grip around the papers he held in the other as he captured a glimpse of tidy, overcast-sky shade of thick hair. It was enough for him to be certain that this was indeed Ryou; that kind of hair was hard to imitate.  
  
"Why are you here, Yugi?" it was the barest jest of a whisper, but Yugi supposed it was appropriate for someone who was sick enough to miss classes.  
  
"I brought your homework!" he flashed the papers quickly in the other's sight, as well as a sincere smile "Everybody was worried. Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine." He replied, just a bit too quickly but recovered himself with a proving cough "Just sick, that's all. Thank you for delivering my schoolwork, it was very kind of you."  
  
"Hey, no problem!" Yugi bounced happily "Say . . . the guys say that Ara's hall is open tonight, wanna come?"  
  
At the hesitation in reply, he added "Come on! It'll be great!"  
  
"We'll see." Ryou smiled, despite his unknown discomfort "If I feel better, then sure." He seemed inclined to add.  
  
"Awesome!"  
  
Yugi handed the papers to him cheerfully, tripping over his thoughts for a split second when he felt a foreboding draft that immediately made him shiver. The thin hand that twisted out for a moment could have belonged to a corpse, it was so pale. But Ryou was always pale.  
  
"You should stoke the fire or something. It's freezing in there! No wonder you're sick!"  
  
"I'll be sure to keep an eye on it. See you later." He began to slowly close the door with a distinct creak.  
  
"See you ~tonight~, right? Think positively!"  
  
The door closed, but somehow Yugi knew Ryou was smiling behind it.  
Quite the contrary.  
He was relieved to see that Yugi had no intentions of hanging around, for there was a secret that was already constricting his life . . .  
  
"Why didn't you just tell him the truth?" an icy voice asked from the shadows. It was oddly rich and commanding, a nice voice to listen to if it wasn't so weighed down with an arrogant tone.  
  
"I couldn't," Ryou's throat seemed to swell painfully as he tried to avoid eye contact with the other. "He shouldn't get mixed up in all of this--"  
  
"He already has." The voice rudely interrupted, as the thing twisted a fork in his fingers "As have you, but you would be even more foolish than I gave you credit for if you didn't know ~that~. You probably would have been doing him a favor if you had brought the situation to his attention."  
  
"Well what was I supposed to say?!" the normally calm boy was losing it, and he knew it "That I happen to be hiding a ~necromancer~ in my dorm?!"  
  
He winced as the fork flashed by him and stuck into the bit of bare wall to the right of his face.  
  
"Don't whine," it hissed "I've heard enough whining already, boy!"  
  
Ryou began to tremble at the seemingly infinite silence, but he knew not if the source of the voice was still lurking in front of him, for he couldn't stand to raise his pale face. His dead-eyes remained stationary.  
  
Needless to say, he waited there for a very long time.  
  
The bony and nearly surreally twisted fingers of his eventually found themselves brushing the golden collar around his neck that most certainly hadn't been there for long. A very curious design was all that sparkled upon it's smooth surface (which was also devoid of any locks or hinges); a strange eye surrounded by a perfect circle.  
  
This was a collar of binding and restraint, and nothing of it's nature had been seen in a VERY long time. Perhaps the last time something like it had been spotted, was in the Old World of Samia; so long ago, no one remembered.  
  
/Please Yugi,/ Ryou thought desperately /~don't~ come back./  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
. . . Kinda weird, isn't it? I was inspired by a few other YGO fanfics, and "Arrows of the Queen" by Mercedes Lackey, but I can assure you of adding other quirks in the text to make it VERY giggleplex. I'm sorry faithful readers about not getting up another chapter of "The Sanctuary", and I dearly hope you will accept this as a humble apology.  
  
*bows to wonderful reviewers*  
  
Now if it's not TOO much trouble, you don't know how gratified I will be if you (yes YOU) review. It doesn't even have to be a PLEASANT review, just as long as a specific point is valid. Constructive criticism makes my day, I can assure you ^^  
  
Of course that doesn't mean that nice reviews are bad either ^_~  
  
I'm terribly sorry about some really bizarre grammar that's enclosed within this chappie as well; another casualty of staying up late to write (kids, don't try that at home). I really need to get into a better habit regarding my fanfiction . . .  
  
'Till next time, my pretties! *cackles*  
  
giggleplex  
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW *breathes* REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *bounces* Do your eyes hurt yet?!  
  
I think you guys get the idea . . . yes, I could be considered obsessed. ^^ 


	2. A Very Odd Puzzle, Indeed

*eyes bulge* You have GOT to be kidding me!  
  
Eight reviews for one chapter?! The FIRST chapter?! Oh my god! That is so much better than I expected!!! *huggles all reviewers* And they were all good ones too! *dazed*  
  
Pardon me, but it's very amazing for little ol' amateur me, who hasn't had more than one review for the first chapter of ANY of her stories before. I'm amazed.  
  
In other words: YOU GUYS ARE SO KEWL!!!  
  
^^;;;  
  
But before we begin, I must alert you to an INSPIRATIONAL IDEA or a no- reward challenge, if you really want to put it that way.  
  
I dare someone to do a MALIK/SETO/ISIS LUUUUUUUV triangle. I've never seen one, and if I have, I haven't seen enough. Just think:  
  
Isis and Kaiba have been dating for weeks, but even though many have wished them the best of luck with their relationship ("You guys are so cute together""A new celebrity relationship, I'm glad you were the lucky girl Isis Ishtar!"), one soul remains lonely. What's this, Malik's in LOVE WITH KAIBA?! This is sibling rivalry unlike ever before . . .  
  
Well, so what if that little summary sucked? The idea is invigorating to me, but I am by no means a humor writer, and I'd only screw it all up. That's why I'm asking for a writer's (or two's) help. Take it or leave it, I'm only here to help. Or try to. ^^  
  
Anyway:  
  
I'm sorry Vera, but there isn't more than a hint of SXJ fluff encased within, as of now. *sniffle* I really tried to get to a certain part, but ended up dramatisizing way too many parts to keep may attention for another scene. And the hint is probably the least amount of SXJ I could do (but also the most, sadly enough). But I promise, PROMISE that there will be some SXJ fluff (aka Joey-torturing, Seto smirking, insult packed, overpowered scuffling), though it's not quite a dominating aspect yet.  
  
I have to set up the scenes, you know!  
  
. . . okay, enough rambling-of-nonsense, on with the show!  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
He nearly tip-toed, as that sort of delicate footing seemed very necessary around the gentle setting. Down within the deepest, darkest "bookshelf" in his mind, he knew that in this case, care wasn't ~really~ mandatory, but the slight frame somehow withholding the generous spirit of Yugi wasn't one to freely intrude, even the slightest, on such a pretty peace.  
  
They had always been required to stay on the easily defined paths after every sundown, 'till sunup (not that they really supported having students about late at night, but it was rather inevitable, really), for a number of reasons. One of the most prominent being that large amounts of magical energy ALWAYS attracted a great deal of . . . ~queer~ creatures, and the unsettled areas around campus were by no means an unfair exception.  
  
Some of these unwanted settlers were purely and nastily dangerous, while others provided skills of a nature that still confused and horrified others of the human population, even if they were of a different spawn than the general description of "dangerous". They had still reserved their own right to be wary of, and since they rarely came out from hiding in their unknown homes under their own free will they were easily avoided. Easy truce, everybody's happy. Well, for the most part anyway . . . if you thought about it long enough, you would discover that no one really understood each other, and that was not always a good thing.  
  
But Yugi didn't mind the restrictions! The little faerie lights that twittered softly and shimmered in interesting natural sparkles were all of the insistence he needed to keep his toes firmly planted in their sight. He always held such a fascination with those mischievous faeries that it could easily qualify for obsession, though he preferred not to refer to it in such a derogatory manner.  
  
It never made sense to him how so many involved with their magical community took advantage of their useful aspects, they used so often. Yugi knew that without them, lighting would be nearly impossible outside of the daylight hours, since fire could only be used in carefully calculated amounts as was recorded in the practically universal Laws of Samia. Everything would just stop when the sun set, if it were not for the cheery faeries that somehow took pity on their helplessness.  
  
Everything about them were just so . . . sparkly . . . so ~amazing~. They supposedly held a low-level of intelligence inside their pointed-featured heads, but Yugi suspected it was nothing more than a long-lasting claim of a frustrated scholar (who was probably studying under faerie light ANYWAY), for not even the most scholarly scholar, with the gaudiest velvet robes, could translate any of their jumbled squeaks and high whistles; not that they hadn't tried.  
  
The society that hung around the Academy often came and went, but still managed to somehow organize themselves into positions to fulfill the needs of the unforgiving headmaster. Both sides often cursed each other, Yugi could tell by their little faces, and at the major setback concerning literacy, but everyone managed before and would manage again, or at least eventually.  
  
A few of the nearby sprites peaked up in interest as he sashayed by, and once the persistent beatings of their glittering wings became too pretty to resist, he smiled widely and turned to face them; returning delight easily.  
  
More of them came up, toppling over each other shamelessly to situate themselves strewn across his line-of-view, so he chuckled and knelt in the same shameless manner to await their friendly praise.  
  
A few showerings of carefully-picked sweets later, and they were all sighing shrilly in contentment. Once they were quite certain that he had no more of those tasty treats, they let him continue down the path with a few hugs around his fingers and little dainty kisses. Each one of them waved as he continued.  
  
Yugi gave a clumsy twirl; /okay, now off to grandpa's house . . . /  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Yugi? Is that you?" it was a homely voice; the kind that made your happiness up inside of your stomach and make you feel an overwhelming urge to jump in someone's arms as you heard it. The plain Office door slowly opened to reveal orange-lit warmth and the voice's bearer; a man who looked to be nearing the ends of middle-age as proof of his steely gray mane and age-roughened call. But even though his youthful and painless appearance had long since faded into time, his wide eyes were surrounded with tiny smile lines, and an almost child-like energy bounced his face up in a lively manner. He had a large resemblance with the boy on his doorstep.  
  
"Grandpa!" Yugi greeted with an appropriate hug, oblivious to anything else. Solomon Moto closed his eyes gently to prevent them being stabbed by unruly hair that defied all laws of physics with it's spiky magnificence. He returned the hug fiercely, noticing just how long his grandson's hairdo had become with so much vigor. His mouth marked his forehead's height, for he wasn't much taller than him, and it was quite obvious if there were any onlookers where he acquired _those_ genes from.  
  
His wild mass of magenta and gold chaos tilted backward as Yugi's large eyes assessed and surveyed his grandfather for the first time in nearly a month. No . . . surely longer.  
  
The normally ignorant circles under his eyes had become much darker, more defined and his eyes were nearly half-closed at best. A line of worry creased between Yugi's brows as his mouth tightened to the side to compliment his worry.  
  
"They've been overworking you again." He stated, shaking his head to the wood-paneled floor.  
  
The old man chuckled.  
  
"To you perhaps, nothing but a few hours of sleep may seem unhealthy," his eyes twinkled wisely "but to an old man long since a point of growing, more wakeful hours are not really that dramatic."  
  
Unfortunately for Solomon's independent ego, his footing chose that precise time to falter slightly as he led Yugi inside of his quarters. His grandson was under him immediately, calmly helping him stand vertical.  
  
He was always an odd child, only mellowed with his ecstatic energies when he was helping someone. Solomon sometimes worried for the boy, he was always picked on by the upper-classmen, and he suspected he was only around for the joy he found in ~helping~ people.  
  
Why did he never make himself happy?  
  
"Grandpa . . . " he said tensely, and sat him down carefully on a chair that was as ugly as it was comfortable.  
  
The old man admitted defeat with a lengthened sigh that obviously carried a lot of burdens in it's grasp. He felt dizzy for a moment, as the sigh seemed to wash out a bit of his consciousness as well as a bit of stress.  
  
"Yet," he continued wryly, shifting himself comfortable "I _always_ underestimate just how much energy science an unruly children drains from my life."  
  
"Why not just tell them no for once." Yugi reasoned logically, as he started a simple heating spell to the full teapot.  
  
"I can't" he sighed again /I can't give up on something I love, I'm not like you Yugi./ "Professor Hawkins and myself have just found a clue to uncover something, and we're nearly there. Something big. ~Worth~ knowing . . . it's something about the Old Ways. Probably the Old Magic; things that haven't been seen or heard of for ~thousands~ of years!"  
  
Abandoning the teapot for more pressing manners, Yugi faced his grandfather with eyes that had suddenly become very large and very round. He stared for a moment, just to make sure he wasn't kidding.  
  
"You're ~sure~ it's about magic?" he asked breathlessly.  
  
The old man surveyed him in amusement. The boy seemed to find so much interest in this sort of thing! He knew the gift would serve wonderfully, despite Professor Hawkins' assurance:  
  
/"He wouldn't like that . . . "  
  
"You never know, Yugi is a very interesting boy."  
  
"Well, I suppose it's yours to do with what you will. Perhaps you're right, and if you are, young Rabecca and Yugi have as different interests as possible."  
  
"Yes, of course."/  
  
"Nearly positive. We even called in one of the younger revolutionaries for conformation, and he was quite enthusiastic about the find as well." Was he ever! Professor Bakura even shared the fact that he was in possession of a very similar item to the one they recovered on yesterday's expedition.  
  
"Wow . . . " Yugi's eyes sparkled, going off into another idea of what the old days must have been like. So much magic; building, instead of fading as it was now, and luscious forests like in the southeast and buildings that reached the sky and . . .  
  
He was interrupted as Solomon tried to stand again with a grimace planted on his face. Yugi quickly pushed him back down gently.  
  
"Oh, bother child!" he glared at his grandson, until he finally relented his support and allowed him up. The older man brushed himself off as if to rid himself of pesky age.  
  
"I may need help from time to time, but I am by no means ~helpless~! I get by perfectly fine in-between your sparse visits."  
  
Yugi knew well enough not to take his grandfather's lectured assurances too seriously, but his expression turned indignant all the same. "I really try to visit you!"  
  
Solomon's expression softened, "Oh, I'm sorry Yugi, I didn't mean to sound so harsh." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled apologetically, with a little hint of ever-present weariness. "You shouldn't worry about me, just your studies now. Besides, if you're going to play 'nursemaid', then you won't be good company at all!" he wrinkled his nose in mock disgust as he teased the boy easily.  
  
Yugi blushed and stared at his boots.  
  
When the redness had subsided, he looked up to find that his grandfather had already taken to the action of sorting through a nearby clutter pile, as if searching for something through the pile of infinite junk. Yugi himself now relaxed into a chair, now suddenly mindful of his own weariness weighing down at his feet. He nearly groaned: /How am I ~ever~ going to get through tonight?!/  
  
"A-ha! Here it is!" the boy jolted out of a slight dose when he heard his grandfather's triumphant cry. His newly-rubbed eyes met . . . ~something~ . . . out of gold. He squinted to further examine the object, but Solomon held it behind his back, obviously intent on voicing an introduction.  
  
"Yugi, do you remember that puzzle from a while back? The one you solved for me?"  
  
"Ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-s." he replied. The puzzle had been nagging Solomon's mind, but he couldn't even begin to place one ceramic piece together. Knowing that his grandson was fond of material challenges such as that, he offered the pieces to Yugi who accepted them curiously with care, and set himself down on the lush carpet in front of the wall-sized window that lit up his Office during most times.  
  
He sat there for hours on end, where his grandfather couldn't hold his attention for more than five minutes at the most, piecing and plucking off pieces from the ground. Yugi accepted no food; in fact, he didn't even give any action while solving the puzzle that reflected he knew of anyone or anything else in the world besides the puzzle. Solomon was slightly alarmed at first, but Yugi was always a strange child in many ways, so he did nothing.  
  
It was a very good thing that day was nothing more than a rare free-day for the academy, because he probably wouldn't have even noticed his class even if the most intimidating instructor hissed up to his face. He was just working; not talking, not smiling.  
  
Just working. Solving in a rather startlingly oblivious state, for so long . . .  
  
Then, just as Solomon was finishing his small dinner, Yugi walked into the kitchen, wiping his eyes.  
  
'Is it breakfast yet, grandpa?' he had asked 'I finished that puzzle you gave me.'  
  
He had only stared, dumbstruck. It was much beyond such a queer situation as to tease, and when Solomon had carefully set Yugi's internal clock right, he seemed to accept it without more difficulty than a shrug. 'It was a good puzzle.' Was all he had said.  
  
Of course, much of the story he had not bothered to explain back to Yugi, and Solomon thought over the events again at the pause now, with a mind-set of finality; Yugi didn't need to be informed of his trance-like state, it's not as if it had any relevance . . .  
  
"Well," he continued, his eyes twinkling "~that~ was just a model." And then he pulled out the golden object from behind his back.  
  
The boy's expression was indefinite. First he was slack-jawed in surprise at it's nearly ~regal~ appearance, then quiet and eyes calm in a response through awe. He finally looked up at his grandfather cheerily with vigor "AWEsome, grandpa!"  
  
"I just followed off of the model you had already assembled," well, it wasn't ~quite~ that simple. Even with the model, it had taken him incomprehensible amounts of time that probably amounted to darker eye- circles along with his other late-night translations of time-taken civilizations. But that morning was when he finally came to a point where it just didn't seem ~right~ somehow to continue, the morning of the precise day that his grandson came for another visit. If that wasn't destiny or fate or something far-fetched and otherworldly such as that, then what was?!  
  
"but," he continued fondly "I think you should place in the last piece, as it's yours now."  
  
Yugi's face looked as though he was hardly daring to believe it, but he took the objects eagerly when Solomon offered them to him. He looked at the objects as if they were foreign and arcane for a moment, gazing back up for a signal to act.  
  
His grandfather nodded; the third and final reassurance of reality he needed.  
  
He was enthusiastic enough to almost fumble and lose the obviously old piece that was apart from the rest, but not careless enough to let it fall and test the potential of harm that it may have come to. However, the little slipping and audible ~*click*~ sound was efficient enough in Yugi's normally clumsy grip to make Solomon wonder.  
  
Something was diffidently strange about this thing. The way the setting of the office seemed to flux for a moment, and the metallic reek of an old magic suddenly sprouted about and around his senses.  
  
But he was expecting a corruption to occur, as his blood went cold at the thought that ~maybe~ it wasn't in Yugi's best interests to even see that puzzling puzzle . . . yet the distinctive 'Yugi' remained behind his violet eyes, tarnished by nothing and certainly not that slight moment of disorientation. Greed had not overwhelmed him, as it had so many before.  
  
Solomon let out a relieved breath. That moment of worry seemed so far away now, and ~ridiculous~. He nearly blushed in . . . shame? Probably. It was a good thing Yugi was so enveloped in his gift, because Solomon was too flustered to have made a good comeback to even something like; 'grandpa, what's wrong?'.  
  
Then, as Yugi probed the artifact closer like a new puppy, still caught up in mindless joy . . .  
All hell broke loose.  
  
Or so it seemed. Solomon felt as if his insides had dropped into icy water, his skin trembled as the numerous knick-knacks and baubles rattled with no sound. He closed his eyes, only to find them snapping back open on their own accord. He was shaking in fear now, but deaf to the world.  
  
A slickly sliding shadow rose out of the completed puzzle. Yugi's eyes were blank and shadowed, so his grandfather tried to shout, but found his voice wasn't working right. The shadow hesitated, as if looking back down on the boy in front of it under close scrutiny.  
  
All Solomon saw were the eyes. Narrow, menacing eyes that he could not chase away. They stared at his grandson for a second, and then, quite suddenly, they disappeared.  
  
/Eyes . . . /  
  
Yugi shook himself out of his trance-like state, and looked over at his obviously disturbed grandfather with worried eyes.  
  
"Grandpa, what's wrong?"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Yugi walked up to the twin lanterns that marked the entrance of Madame Ara's Work Room with slightly startled breath that made his throat a bit sore. A figure was already waiting for him, hunched in juvenile awkwardness, and sporting a messy hairdo that was easy to identify much further back.  
  
The figure waved once Yugi came into his view.  
  
"Hey Joey!" he bounced.  
  
"Heh, been a while, huh Yug?" The blonde replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. The two had been friends since the first week of school back when they were of the resident newbies. It had long since blossomed into a tight friendship between seemingly unlikely subjects; the bully, and the kid who was always picked on, and Yugi couldn't say he trusted someone so completely as Joey. Well, maybe Tea, but that was it.  
  
"Yeah," Yugi looked behind him at the sound of leisurely set footsteps to face another tall student, with strangely angular chocolate hair and a very cool attitude.  
  
"How's it going guys?" Tristan asked, breaking his awkwardly untouchable impression. The three of them stood on the neatly swept steps signaling a nearly dreaded dark place, and conversed quietly with inspirations of the past while they waited for their other companions. Madame Ara would never let them in if they didn't have the girls, and besides . . .  
  
"Ryou said he would try to come," Yugi said "he said he was sick, but would see how well he felt be nightfall."  
  
Both of the others looked at each other.  
  
"Bakura? Yeah, maybe." Tristan voiced as he avoided Yugi's eyes.  
  
The short one sighed /What IS so bad about Ryou?/  
  
"Sorry we're late!"  
  
Tea was dragging another girl up to the 'group meeting', one with large brown doe-like eyes, a kind expression and honey-shade hair that was loosely bound with the restrictions of a braid. They both smiled as they caught their breath, and Tea gave a little 'V for victory' sign with one of her hands.  
  
The other girl, Serenity, looked over at Tristan and blushed a deep shade of red. He looked back at her fondly, until he noticed her brother seething as he noticed the exchange.  
  
"Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-at?!" he yelled, clearly taken in his 'big brother' stage. Joey knew that his little sister and that . . . ~goon~ (even though they were practically best friends) had something going on, but she was his LITTLE SISTER! The little toddler that he always used to take down to the beach, the little girl who he used to comfort as she clutched at his cloak on thunderstorm-lit nights. There was no way, NO WAY he was gonna just let her get hurt like that!  
  
All four of them fell silent. Tristan and Serenity were blushing, Joey was glaring so hard that his face had become round, and Tea and Yugi were surveying the rest with peaceful wishes in mind.  
  
It stayed silent for a long, long time.  
  
Tea shifted her head position ever-so-slightly, catching Yugi's eye. This hadn't been the first time, nor the last, but they always managed to divert everyone's attention enough for it to be comfortable. However, Tea's eyes sparkled with a little more mischief than usual, causing Yugi's eyes to widen in dread. /What is she planning on doing?! I don't like the looks of this . . . /  
  
"Oh my!" Tea whisked the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically "The," it was specified enough with her wiggling eyebrows "~tension~ around you two is almost too much to bear for my poor soul! Get a room, you two!"  
  
Yugi closed his eyes, silently praying that it would all turn out alright. When he opened them again, Joey had turned even more red in aghast realization, so he decided to play peacekeeper. ~Again~. "Hey, come on guys, let's just all calm down and venture to that happy place . . . "  
  
His throat was tight, but he was secretly giggling at Tea's poke of fun, even if Joey looked as though he was prepared to kill something when she said it.  
  
"Big brother," Serenity put in "if you hurt somebody, then we'll ~never~ graduate!"  
  
"Um, yeah, Joey." Tristan was obviously not keen to be the unfortunate victim of the Great and Powerful ANGRY Joey ((AN - tm ^^)).  
  
The dirty-blonde's anger seemed to fade at the voice of his little sister, and he finally, albeit a bit slowly, shook his head and smiled at his sister.  
  
"Yeah, guess you're right. Heehee." He scratched the back of his head again.  
  
Tea led the way as she opened the door with a fair tug of the door, Yugi right behind her.  
  
"They really needed that." She whispered.  
  
Yugi nodded, and they proceeded further into the darkness. They suddenly stopped as they heard a distinct ~*thud*~ and Joey's harsh whispers.  
  
"But if I hear ~one~ little bad thing about you, buddy" he threatened "I'll punch your face in so hard, you'll never be able to charm a girl again. Got it?"  
  
"Chill, Joey, chill!" Tristan then went off in a steady stream of disclaimers, as Serenity looked back on the pair with a sigh.  
  
"Joey needs to find someone he loves." She reflected.  
  
The other two nodded.  
  
"He just needs to understand how we feel," she continued, but not allowing the pair out of her sight "even if he fell in love with the cruelest person in the world."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Tea assured the younger girl "he may be thick- headed, but he's not heartless."  
  
They both giggled.  
  
"Oh, wow Yugi!" Tea noticed the stub of a weapon in Yugi's hand, of a different sort than he usually carried "you never told me that you got a new Emulator!"  
  
The boy blushed "It's not mine . . . it's grandpa's. I was too lazy to go back to the dorms and pick up my own before coming here." He laughed nervously at his fault.  
  
"It's very cool." She assured. "So's that puzzle." The said object seemed to gleam darkly.  
  
"It's my new Focus." Yugi continued down the dark corridor, and offered nothing else in explanation. Tea blushed at her childish behavior of probing him with questions, and dearly hoped Yugi wasn't too angry with her.  
  
When clumsily loud footfalls could be heard other than their own, signaling Joey and Tristan's arrival, they stepped into the familiar light of an open Work Room.  
  
Another fascinating adventure for all five of them.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
That has to be one of the longest chapters I've ever written! Well, despite it's length, it was rather uneventful, but I hope the next chapter will make up in exiting, er, kickass bishie-ness!!!  
  
o.O  
  
Yup, Seto's coming up! ^^ I'm trying to parallel a number of main events from the anime, so I haven't just stolen the characters. I'm doing an AU properly, if you know what I mean. ^_~  
  
So don't forget about my side-challenge if you have writers block right now (I kind of think of having writers block is kind of like having your . . . well, you other gals out there should get it; writers block is maddening, hassling, and makes you feel emotional. Any questions?) The idea of a Malik/Seto/Isis triangle has been plaguing me for quite some time. Gawd. I need to finish up a project, but I've barely even started them!  
  
Somebody PLEASE take this idea off of my back! C'mon, you're guaranteed a reviewer!  
  
And please . . .  
  
Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please . . .  
  
. . . review? *falls off of chair* What are you talking about, I'm not a greedy, good-for-nothing, annoying writer. NAW! ^^  
  
Toodaloo for now!  
  
giggleplex 


End file.
